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CHRISTMAS DEFINES HUMAN RIGHTS DAY – DECEMBER 10
On Sunday, December 10, the world commemorates the 75th anniversary of what the UN calls “one of the world’s most groundbreaking global pledges: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights”.
I want you to note that this pledge ambiguously declares “human” is a “born individual” because it was designed with universalist language without reference to religion, even though “universalism” is a religion unto itself.
CAN WE AGREE ON WHAT A HUMAN IS?
The fruit of our society is that almost all agree that we should protect innocent lives from harm.
Yet “a life” has very different meanings because the root of that belief is being cut away.
The root is all humans are “made in the image of God” and are therefore of supreme value. This is what makes human beings not just an animal or a bag of cells.
The Bible says, “God created man in His own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female He created them [i.e. Adam and Eve].”
God formed Adam, and Eve from Adam’s rib, out of “the dust”, but we are not just cells, because He “breathed” into our nostrils “the breath of life” [Hebrew ruach, or spirit], and the man became a living soul,” says Genesis 2.
We have this “living soul” (nephesh, an animated, breathing, conscious and living being) from the moment of conception, because God “sees us” in our mother’s womb, according to Psalm 139.
We were created as innocent Image Bearers of God from conception in order to find friendship with God, but as we mature our hearts willingly turn away from Him.
As Isaiah writes, “we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one to his own way” (Isaiah 53, also in Romans 3:12).
And this design to be bearers of God’s image is true for all of us regardless of our possessions, status, genes, chromosomes, ethnicity, outward behaviours or habits, or place of birth, et cetera.
CHRISTMAS HERALDED GOD’S IMAGE
Many people have largely forgotten that God the Son, Jesus Christ, the Messiah, came down to us to be born as a baby, to live among us and teach us what this imaging of God means:
- “not be served, but to serve”
- To bear with suffering in order “lay down your life” for the benefit of others
- bring “liberty and freedom to the captives”
- “the first will be last and the last will be first”
- what the world calls “strong” is weakness in the eyes of God
- what the world calls “weak” is strength in the eyes of God
Sadly, a large section of modern humanity is attempting to throw off the “shackles” of God’s design to serve the weak and lowly, and increasingly favour power and status for the outwardly strong and wealthy.
Jesus addresses this very directly by saying that “whoever will save their life”, meaning to be entirely selfish and opposed to God, that person “will lose it [their life]” in God’s final judgement, but whoever “loses their life” by surrendering their will to God’s design – that person will instead “save it [their life]” for eternal life with Him forever!
JESUS’ ARRIVAL CONFIRMED ALL HUMANS AS VALUABLE
Jesus’ arrival as a baby was heralded as “glad tidings for all people” by angels, because He is “the Saviour of the world”.
If we all ultimately turn away from God – we have hope!
Jesus’ work in his death on the cross is, according to 1 John 2, “the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for our sins but also for the whole world”. Wow!
By Jesus’ one righteous act on the cross came “righteousness” of God, which when we trust Him leads to “life for all people”, according to Romans 5.
May we help each other return to the image of our Creator Jesus in how we think and behave.
John Stott said: “The astonishing paradox of Christ's teaching and of Christian experience is this: if we lose ourselves in following Christ, we actually find ourselves. True self-denial is self-discovery.
“To live for ourselves is insanity and suicide; to live for God and for man is wisdom and life indeed. We do not begin to find ourselves until we have become willing to lose ourselves in the service of Christ and of our fellows.”
May God surround you with His love and compassion in this time of Christmas hope and joy.
Darryl Budge
WA State Director
FamilyVoice Australia